Electronic keyboard instrument

Abstract

Electronic piano includes speakers arranged on its front side region and another speaker provided at a back position of the piano. Waveform memory provided in a tone generator section has prestored therein sets of four-channel waveform data, each of the sets corresponding to a tone. The four-channel waveform data are data recorded from a natural musical instrument via four microphones installed at sampling positions corresponding to the above-mentioned speakers. The microphones are installed with the on-microphone setting in which the microphones are positioned close to sounding members of the natural musical instrument. In response to depression of a key, any one of the sets of four-channel waveform data, corresponding to a tone pitch designated by the key depression, is read out from the waveform memory, so that the four-channel waveform data are supplied in parallel to the individual speakers.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]The present invention relates to an electronic keyboard instrument which can achieve substantially the same acoustic effects as achieved by a natural musical instrument.[0002]Among the conventionally-known tone generation methods for electronic musical instruments are one which records waveforms of tones generated by a natural musical instrument, stores, into a waveform memory, the recorded waveforms of the tones as digital waveform data encoded by the PCM coding scheme or the like and then reads out the waveform data from the waveform memory when tones are to be generated by the electronic musical instrument.[0003]Further, among the conventionally-known piano-type electronic keyboard instruments (hereinafter referred to as “electronic pianos”) are one which has, as a tone source, a waveform memory that records (i.e., samples) tones of an acoustic (i.e., natural) grand piano in three channels in such a manner that a set of waveform data of three channels is stored in...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electronic keyboard instrument which can achieve substantially the same acoustic characteristics as achieved by an acoustic (natural) grand piano and particularly can sufficiently reproduce a reality and depth feeling of a performed tone of the grand piano heard at the position of a human player performing the electronic keyboard instrument.

[0010]According to the present invention, where the three or more speakers are arranged on the front side region of the casing, in substantial parallel relation to the key-arranged direction of the keyboard, to audibly generate or sound tone signals that correspond to a sound component occupying the greatest part among sound components heard at the position of the human player and a sound produced by a hammer striking a corresponding string, it is possible to realistically reproduce horizontal spaciality or extensity of a sound produced by the natural musical instrument (grand piano). Further, by a tone signal corresponding to a sound generated from a back position remote from the human player of the natural musical instrument (grand piano) being sounded through the at least one speaker installed at the back position, the present invention can reproduce a horizontal spread feeling of a sound produced by the natural musical instrument (grand piano). Further, because the sound pickup devices for recording waveform data are positioned relatively close to the sounding members, the present invention can record, as waveform data, a pure sound produced from the sounding members (string and soundboard) of the natural musical instrument (grand piano) and audibly reproduce tone signals corresponding to the pure sound produced from the sounding members.

[0011]Namely, with the present invention, in which the three or more speakers are arranged on the front side region of the upper surface of the casing, extending backward from the front side and the at least one speaker is provided backwardly of the three or more speakers and in which waveform data picked up at positions corresponding to the installed positions of the three or more four speakers and at least one other speaker, distributively provided on the upper surface of the casing, are reproduced through these speakers, the present invention can reproduce, in a realistic manner, acoustic characteristics of a sound of the natural musical instrument (grand piano), such as a spatial spread of a sound of the natural musical instrument, namely, an atmosphere and rich depth feeling with which the soundboard, extending backward or away from the human player, is sounded at its entire surface. Particularly, the present invention can reproduce, in an extremely realistic manner, a performed sound of the natural musical instrument heard at the position of the human player.

Problems solved by technology

However, the piano tone color (grand piano tone color) of the prior art electronic piano can not sufficiently reproduce the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic grand piano; particularly, the prior art technique can not achieve substantially the same acoustic effects as achieved by the acoustic grand piano, namely, it can not achieve a sufficient reality and depth feeling of a performed tone heard at the position of the human player.

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